


There Are Always Gifts At Santa's

by GretchenSinister



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Gen, Pre-Movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 10:44:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19990846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GretchenSinister/pseuds/GretchenSinister
Summary: Original Prompt: "Whenever Jack hit emotional rock bottom, he used to go try and break into North’s workshop. Because even if the yetis didn’t want him there, at least they could see him.+1000 He would let them hit him/swat him away/bodily throw him out just so that someone would touch him."I wrote about Jack’s first visit to the north pole, where he’s surprised to see the yetis and the yetis are surprised to see him.





	There Are Always Gifts At Santa's

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr on 6/22/2016.

Jack hadn’t intended to find North’s workshop when he did. He had been Jack Frost for about a decade, and was exhausted with it. He didn’t know what or why he was, but with how much anyone noticed him, he might as well have been nothing and have no reason for being. Whatever he did with the wind and the snow didn’t stop him from feeling that way—whatever he did, people could always look at it as something natural. Unusual, maybe, but natural.  
  
The next step, Jack supposed, was to seek out beings like himself. But though he had looked, he hadn’t found anyone yet—not for sure. He’d seen some evidence of people that couldn’t be human, but he’d never gotten close to any of those people himself. And maybe he had just been seeing things that weren’t there.  
  
And after a decade, he didn’t know what to do, except that he was tired, and being close to real, human people wasn’t helping him at all.  
  
He had overheard, now and then, people speaking of the North Pole as a place where explorers hoped to go someday, but hadn’t yet been able to reach, a lofty goal for only the most daring to attempt. And so the things Jack knew about it were that it was cold, and that there were no people there. That sounded like just the sort of place he should be, and so he called up the wind and soon left behind any of the marks humanity had yet made on the world.  
  
In the high, high Arctic, Jack slid through the night and wondered if he would know when he reached the North Pole. He’d simply followed the north star so far to get where he was now, but wouldn’t the pole need much more exact navigation to find? But then again, did it matter? Now, there was nothing but an austere landscape of snow and ice below him, and it had been some time since he had even seen any animals, so distant was he from anything and everything.  
  
And he felt—yes! He was feeling something now, a thrill that he was seeing something that no one had seen before, something beautiful enough that it seemed to hardly matter that he wouldn’t be able to share what he had seen with anyone else. He looked ahead and saw a glow on the horizon—was it time for the brief, not-quite dawn here already? That would be wonderful to see, even if it meant that he hadn’t quite reached the North Pole yet.  
  
He headed toward the glow, because he didn’t need to do anything else.   
  
As he approached, however, he realized that something was wrong. The glow couldn’t be the sun, because Jack was clearly getting closer to it. But there were no people up here. Confused and curious, Jack crossed over a ridge of ice and landed suddenly, staring at what rose out of the snow before him.  
  
It was a building, massive, half-covered in ice and blazing with light. And it was beautiful, wonderful, but how could it be here? There were no people this far north, or at least no ordinary people. No ordinary people. A slow smile crept over Jack’s face, and, almost unconsciously, he called the wind to bring him closer.  
  
This was what he had been looking for. Undeniable magic other than him. And with all the lit windows, there must be some beings inside. And if they could build a place like this, they’d probably be able to speak, as well, and…well, the chances were better than they were with ordinary people that they’d be able to see and speak to Jack.  
  
Jack couldn’t find anything that looked like a front door, but he did find a ramp extending out into the air that led into a twisting tunnel of ice. He followed it eagerly, and soon he emerged into a stone-floored room with two wide grooves worn into it. He wondered what they were for, but was more excited by the possibility that he would be able to ask about it, and headed toward the wide wooden doors that concealed wherever the grooves went. There was a strong animal smell in the air, and it reminded Jack of stables, though he wasn’t smelling horses, or at least not any kind of horses he knew of.  
  
He had barely put his hands on the large doors when they swung open to reveal a trio of tall, hairy, man-like creatures casually jabbering to each other.  
  
Jack goggled at them, hardly noticing the rest of the room beyond, which held a bright red sleigh and, yes, had a number of animal stalls along its sides.  
  
The three creatures fell silent and stared at him with equal astonishment.  
  
“Hello, I’m Jack Frost,” he said, giddy with the thought that they were actually seeing him. “I was wondering if you could tell me where I am—whoa, um, hey now!”  
  
The creatures said something unintelligible to each other and lunged forward, directly at Jack. Shocked, Jack didn’t even think to dodge, and when they grabbed him, he was even more shocked by the actual contact, and didn’t struggle. He had forgotten everything about what contact could be like, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to free himself from even this hostile contact.  
  
Not that he had much choice about it. The creatures had a heated argument while one held Jack’s arms against his body, while another held his feet together to keep him from kicking. When a conclusion was reached, the one not restraining Jack led the others back through the stables—which held reindeer, Jack could see now—and out a double set of doors that seemed to be meant to keep the cold air out. These doors led to a tiny ledge over a very tall cliff, and Jack wondered if this was standard procedure for intruders before noticing the stains on the ice. Ah, so this was how the stables were shoveled out. If they were giving him that job Jack thought he really wouldn’t mind, he would learn their language, he would—he would have to call the wind, quick, as they’d just thrown him off the edge.  
  
He yelled in surprise, and by the time he had reoriented himself, the doors were closed. When he checked, a door had been closed over the tunnel of ice, as well.  
  
He sighed, perching on another cliff. He wouldn’t be feeling good, later, he knew, when he had more time to think about how the only creatures to see him in years hadn’t wanted him around, but still! He had been seen! He had been solid when they grabbed him! They had known he was there, and had had definite opinions about him!  
  
 _That_ was good. He could do with coming back now and again to remind them, and himself, of just how real he was. And maybe he’d even manage to see more of this place, then. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments from Tumblr:
> 
> mira-eyeteeth said: Oh Jack. Poor thing, so neglected that even hostility is better than indifference.


End file.
